World briefs

The new Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, met with officers of the military unit that oversees the land-based ballistic and cruise missiles of China’s nuclear force, in the latest indication that Mr Xi is moving quickly to solidify his control of the armed forces. In his third public event with the military since taking office last month, Mr Xi praised the nuclear unit, the Second Artillery Corps, as “a strategic pillar of our great power status", a pointed reference to the military’s role in elevating China to a greater role in global affairs. Xi took over as civilian chairman of the military from President Hu Jintao at the Communist Party Congress, the first Chinese leader since 1976 to assume the positions as head of the party and head of the military at the same time.The New York Times

Deutsche Telekom AG is reviewing additional job cuts to boost profitability as Germany’s largest phone company meets investors to outline its financial targets. Chief financial officer Timotheus Hoettges wants to reduce the number of staff that perform internal control functions such as measuring business processes. The review concerns as many as 12,000 positions at the German division and its service units, and no decision has been made on how many of those should go.Bloomberg

Thieves made off with several US-made engines for F-16 warplanes worth millions of dollars from an airbase in central Israel. Israel’s Walla internet site said preliminary findings after an investigation by military police indicated there may have been collusion between the thieves and personnel, either military or civilian, at the base. Last year, the Israeli military police launched an investigation after parts for F-15 and F-16 warplanes from the Tel Nof airbase near Tel Aviv were discovered when police searched a warehouse used by scrap metal merchants.AFP

Walmart, which has acknowledged one of its suppliers used the Bangladesh garment factory, Tazreen Design, where more than 100 people died in a fire on November 24, worked with at least five suppliers linked to Tazreen this year, documents found in the ruins by a labour-rights group show. Purchase orders, shipment statements, inventory reports and other documents show that two New York-based suppliers for Wal-Mart and a third in California sourced merchandise from Tazreen. Bloomberg

Software company founder John McAfee was arrested yesterday in Guatemala City for entering the country illegally. Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said Mr McAfee had been detained by police at a hotel with the help of Interpol. Earlier, Mr McAfee said he had asked for asylum in Guatemala, claiming he was being persecuted in Belize where he is wanted for questioning in the fatal shooting of a neighbour. AP

UK Treasurer
George Osborne
has unveiled plans for a new office to oversee the nascent shale gas industry and confirmed he was looking at tax breaks to encourage its development. But the UK’s gas strategy, published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, cautioned that while “there are very large quantities of gas in the shales beneath the UK, not enough is known to estimate what fraction of this could be produced". Shale gas development would take place more slowly in the UK than in the US, it said. The Telegraph

Hong Kong Airlines, holder of the biggest backlog of Airbus SAS A380 orders in Asia, wants to swap some planes for smaller models because of a new focus on short-haul routes. The carrier is discussing changing at least some of its 10 A380s that it has on order for A330s, and delaying deliveries, HKA president Yang Jianhong said. Bloomberg